Water-crane for supplying locomotives



(No Model.) V

A. K. MANSFIELD- WATER CRANE FOR SUPPLYING LOCOMOTIVES. No. 304,741.Patented Sept. 9, 1884.

Inventor:

N. PETERS. Plwwumo mr. Washingmn. 0.;

NlTED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

WATER-CRANE FOR SUPPLYING LOCOMOTIVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 304,741, datedSeptember 9, 1884-.

Application filed October 5, 1883. (No model.)

' motives 011 the line of a railroad with water,

of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to overcome the danger of bursting ofpipes through quick closing of the supply-valve; to insure that thecrane at all times when not in use occupies its proper position relativeto the track; to simplify the construction, and to render it difficultfor unauthorized persons to tamper with the valve. I attain theseobjects as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is asectional elevation of the entire water-crane, and Fig. 2 is anelevation showing one of the wheels on which the crane turns.

E is avertical pipe through which water flows to the goose-neck, andfrom thence into the tank of the engine. R is a hollow stand supportingand guiding the pipe. S is a valvechamber containing the supply-valve L;P, a horizontal pipe conveying water to the crane; F, a hand-lever foroperating the valve; 1, a spring which balances the pressure of wateragainst the under side of the closed valve; B, one of three ellipticrollers supporting the weight of the vertical pipe and goose-neck.

In opening the valve the lever F, which has its fulcrum at H, isunlatched at G and thrown to a horizontal position, or until the handlereaches the platform, or nearly so. This raises one end of the lever T,which has its fulcrum at V, opening the main valve L, and at the sametime closing the waste-cock O. The spring-rod or connecting-rod betweenthe two levers passes through a block at J, the rod having a nut andcheck-nut on its end. When the valve is closed, these nuts do not bearagainst the block. If they did, the full force of the compressed springwould not act to hold the valve against its seat. By drawing the bottomnuts slightly away from the block, and by compressing the spring by thetop nut, the valve may be held against its seat with anyforce desired,depending only on the stiffness of the spring.-

. The object of the spring is both to balance the pressure against thevalve and to render it a safety-valve, for, if the pressure under thevalve, through impact or otherwise, becomes greater than the oppositepressure due to the spring, the valve will be opened and remain so untilthe undue pressure is relieved, thus preventing any liability ofbursting pipes. The arrangement of levers will readily be seen "to besuch as to make it easy to close thevalve against any pressure of waterwhich may occur. The waste-cock O is so connected with the lever T as tobe open when the supplyvalve is closed, and vice versa. This is toprevent freezing of water in the vertical pipe, and to drain any leakagethrough the valve. The water-crane is so placed beside the railroadtrackthat when the goose-neck is turned to a position at right angles to thetrack its mouth may be directly over the center of the enginetank. WVhenthe goose-neck is released from this position, it will returnautomatically to its normal position parallel to the track. This isaccomplished by means of three (more or less) elliptic rollers, 13.These rollers and the surfaces in contact with them are provided withteeth, in order to keep them in the proper positions relative to eachother. The surface A is part of an annular ring or flange attached tothe stand-pipe E, and turns with the pipe. The surface 0 is a part of anannular ring fastened to the stationary stand R. The three rollers arepivoted to the follower-ring D, which moves with the rollers. When therollers are in the positionindicated by Fig. 2, the stand-pipe occupiesits normal position. When the stand-pipe is turned through a quarter ofa circle, the long diameters of the elliptic rollers become vertical.The weight of the pipe falling through a distance equal to thedifference of diameters of the ellipse is the power which moves thestand-pipe to its original po sition.

To insure that the stand-pipe rises to its highest point in tumingthrough one-quarter of a revolution, the number of teeth in each of theelliptic rollers B must be one-half as many as in the annular rings Aand O. The angular motion of the follower-ring D will be found to beone-half as great as that of the stand-pipe. The friction on the pivotsof the rollers is only that due to the weight of the follower-ring. Theshield WV, which covers the elliptic rollers, is fastened to thestandpipe, and therefore rises and falls with it, and is substantially aprojecting part or flange of the same. The latch G, which latches thelever F in its vertical position, is so formed (see Fig. 1) that thelatch cannot be raised until the shield rises. The result is that thevalve can only be opened when the goose-neck is at or nearly at rightangles to the track. This makes it diflicult for the lever to betampered with.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a water-column, the combinationof valve L, operating-lever F, and a connectingrod between the stem ofthe valve and said 1ever, carrying an adjustable spring, I, the pressure of which acts in a contrary direction and opposed to the pressure ofthe water, making the valve at once an operating and a safety valve, asset forth.

2. In a water-column, the conibinatioi'i of the vertically moving andrevolving standpipe'E, provided with the toothed annular ring A, withthe stationary toothed ring'G, and the elliptic wheels B B B, journaledto the follower-ring D, and engaging with the rings A and O,substantially as described.

3. In a water column, the combination of the valve L, the intermediatelever, T, pivoted to the stem of said valve, the spring-rod carrying theadjustable spring I, and the operating-lever F, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a water-crane, the latch G, pivoted to a stationary bearing,combined with an en gaging projection on the operating-lever F, and therevolving stand-pipe R, carrying a locking-flange, NV, as set forth.

ALBERT K. MANSFIELD.

\Vitnesses:

L. FAUNOE, G. L. M'ANsFrnLn.

